


Superflowers

by AltonaFalcon



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-04-27 18:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14431155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AltonaFalcon/pseuds/AltonaFalcon
Summary: Follows the life of Park Jihyo, the leader of TWICE- a famous girl group, consisting of all beautiful individuals with extreme talents. Only a select few people knew, they were secretly girls with superpowers. For some reasons, Jihyo- a girl with no power whatsoever- was chosen as their leader."... How can you all be interested in someone like me?"Signal-inspired, Jihyo-centered, features all pairings with Jihyo.





	1. Prologue

“… I’m sorry, what?”

Never before, even in her wildest, most irrational of dreams, had Jihyo thought something like this would happen in her life.

She was currently sitting in TWICE’s new dormitory, frozen solid on the sofa and staring incredulously at her longest companion in JYP- Im Nayeon, her senior of two years, a talented and pretty girl with adorable rabbit teeth that was always proudly present on her dazzling smile. That very smile was being directed at Jihyo with utmost sincerity, yet it did not seem to calm the younger girl down even one bit.

Jihyo’s eyes darted to the remaining members of her group, who were occupying the space around her in a manner that they thought to be warm and intimate; to Jihyo however, it only served to intimidate her even more. They all had different degrees of Nayeon’s expectant look in their own faces as well, telling the distressed girl that they all supported the idea wholeheartedly.

At this point, Nayeon saw fit to patiently repeat herself.

“I said, Jihyo-ah, that I-we all want you to be the leader of the new group.”

“B-but… why?” Even on the second time of hearing it, Jihyo still could not wrap her head around the statement. “I don’t think I have anything that qualifies me as a leader, let alone our group leader.” She made a vague gesture with her hand, yet everyone understood quite well what she meant.

Nayeon took a deep breath, ready to explain, yet she was interrupted by Sana who decided to butt in out of impatience.

“Yah Jihyo, I told you never to say that about yourself! Without you we could never be here together, all nine of us, in one place. I’m pretty sure Jeongyeon and Momo would be killing each other right now had it not been for you.” Upon Sana’s mention of their names, both girls in question looked up at her in irritation. Scared of the backlash, Sana’s form turned fainter and fainter until she dissipated completely into thin air. No longer having their first target, Jeongyeon and Momo proceeded to glare at one another afterwards, and while the exchange wasn’t particularly spiteful, it did not go unnoticed by Sana, who pointed out triumphantly.

“See! I stand corrected. Their powers counter each other’s. It used to be, ‘One can’t live if the other survives’ for them you know. And now they’re roommates!”

“Sana-chan, you’re not helping.” Came Mina’s quiet voice. Sana pouted.

Turning to Jihyo, she continued. “She has a point though Jihyo-ah. Without you we can’t have kept ourselves from unleashing our powers against another, and this will be a bloody battlefield. Especially short-fused Tzuyu…” Mina snuck an apprehensive glance at Tzuyu, who narrowed her eyes.

“Mina-unnie, I’m not sure I like what you said…” The youngest member of TWICE said slowly, but dangerously. For fear of her own safety, Mina decided against continuing. Rather, she stared into Tzuyu’s eyes and sent a small spark of forgetfulness. The maknae blinked twice, then turned back to Jihyo, not remembering Mina’s unintentional jab.

“See, Jihyo-unnie,” Having stayed silent for the whole time, fiddling with Jihyo’s wavy brown hair without even touching it, Chaeyoung finally chirped in. “You’ve been working miracles and you don’t even know it. With these abilities we always try to get stronger than anyone, and want to prove ourselves to be so.” The young telepsychic stopped for breath, and Dahyun took it as a cue for her to continue.

“But you were always there for us,” said Dahyun.

“Befriended us,” said another Dahyun.

“Helped us befriend one another,” said yet another Dahyun.

“And made us feel like we’re just normal people.” Concluded the Dahyun currently massaging Jihyo’s temples for good measure, whom she thought must be the real one. For reasons unknown, Jihyo never failed to tell apart the original girl from her clones. In retrospect, it was probably because Dahyun never let any clone get closer to Jihyo than herself.

“What do you mean by that though Dahyunie, of course you guys are normal girls. Should I be treating you guys somehow differently or something?” Jihyo asked in earnest. Sure, they might be quirky and their personalities might deviate a bit from social standards, but it was due to their extraordinary experiences with their respective superpowers. None of them was particularly suited for normal life, yet for Jihyo it could ill alter her opinions. They were all her precious friends and bandmates, and that’s that.

It did not seem so simple for everyone else in the room however. One second passed in absolute silence, as they all stared at Jihyo with dewy eyes.

“… What?”

No one bothered replying to Jihyo’s rather pathetic request to clarify things, until a wordless Tzuyu lunged forward and captured the poor girl in a literal bone-crushing hug.

“Eek! Hurgh… can’t breathe… you’re killing me Tzuyu…” Smothered in the hug that was reinforced with superhuman strength, Jihyo squeezed out. Her plead for life was heard, and all of a sudden Tzuyu found herself 3 steps away from her human teddy bear. She glared at Jeongyeon, whom she knew for certain was the culprit for her sudden lack of warmth. The short-haired girl ignored her though, so Tzuyu sulked with a huff.

“Tzuyu pushed it a bit too extreme, but we agree with her Jihyo-ah. We really appreciate what you said, thanks a lot.” She slung her arm around Jihyo’s shoulders and give it a slight rub, to which the brunette was grateful. Her body was still in pain from Tzuyu’s overly affectionate embrace.

“Yeah, don’t ever change Jihyo-ah. You don’t need powers for us to respect you, you managed to do it by just being yourself. We love you for this exact reason.” Momo said fondly, taking hold of Jihyo’s free hand and cupping it in both of hers. Pausing a bit, she added. “I love you for this exact reason.” Smiled Momo mischievously. That earned her the reaction she anticipated, as all members protested vehemently.

“Hey Momo! That’s not fair!” Shouted Nayeon, beaten to the punch.

“That’s sneaky of you Momoring.” Mina whispered in jealousy.

“Hey, Jihyo-unnie is mine!” Chaeyoung was not about to stay silent herself.

“… mine.” Tzuyu managed to get back to her former position, currently clutching Jihyo’s left arm while looking at the others with threatening eyes.

Amidst the hubbub, Jihyo sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

“What have I gotten myself into…”


	2. Face Value (Nayeon)

“It’s the sea!” Jihyo exclaimed with gusto. She grinned widely, taking in a lungful of salty fresh air. Around her, the members of TWICE were also showing their own version of delight.

Their work schedule had been jampacked as of late, and one by one, the member exhibited different signs of exhaustion. Mina was hardly seen out of her room whenever they were at the dorm, Tzuyu became more irritable, and Jihyo found herself using her eye drops a lot more than usual lately. Her eyes got incredibly itchy at times, and she attributed this to the make-up that might have gotten into her eyes during their countless photoshoots and recordings.

Ever the observant producer, JYP granted them a two-day, one-night trip to Jeju Island. Admittedly, it was no full-fledged vacation on an exotic site- far from it actually, but they couldn’t have asked for anything better. The girls let out delighted shrieks upon hearing the news, overjoyed at their rare chance to let off steam and just let loose.

On the arrival at Jeju Island, they were greeted with a lavish dinner in a seaside restaurant.

“Your turn to order Jihyo.” Jeongyeon said, passing the menu to her leader.

“Alright! Let’s get some specialty in our stomach!” She exclaimed enthusiastically. Everything looked and sounded really palatable, so she picked one at random. “I’ll have some Galchi Jorim. Wait never mind, I don’t want that. One serving of Okdom Gui for me please.” The waiter nodded and proceeded to the next member.

“What’s wrong with Galchi Jorim though?” Dahyun, who was choosing next, asked curiously.

“Nothing Dahyunie, I just wanted something else.”

“Have you tried Galchi Jorim before?”

“No I haven’t.” She didn’t know herself why she changed her choice, but something told her she wouldn’t like the dish, so she chose another one without giving it another thought. Jihyo now felt foolish, seeing as she had never tried it before.

“Huh, that’s weird.” The rapper shrugged, dropping the topic.

Jihyo looked around the table. Everyone was excited, either chatting animatedly or taking selfies with the others. But then she noticed Nayeon, who was seated on her left, staring at nothing in particular with a distracted look.

“Nayeon-unnie?” She called out, catching Nayeon’s attention. The girl snapped back to reality.

“Yeah?”

“Is something wrong? You look… bored.” She asked with genuine concern. Of course the vacation was meant for them to have fun, but it was her obligation to see everyone happy and satisfied

“I’m fine Jihyo, just a bit tired.” Came Nayeon’s reply.

“Let me cheer you up then. Say, if you're Russian when you go to the toilet, and Finnish when you go out, what are you when you're in the toilet?"

“… What?”

“European!”

The look on Nayeon’s face then was something Jihyo would take to the grave.

“Gosh, shut it you.” Nayeon pushed her away, but her lovely smile finally returned. Jihyo gleefully noted, directing her focus back to the newly-arrived food.

That night, she dreamt of having fun in the sea. Unlike other dreams, this particular one was so real, Jihyo actually felt exhausted when she woke up.

_____

The following morning, as expected, was a blast. They were given free reign at an exclusive resort site, reserved by JYP himself for his artists. Thanks to constant upkeep, this part of the beach was thankfully kept in almost pristine condition. The sea spread out limitlessly to the horizon, painting Jihyo’s vision with its deep azure sheen. There was no one here but themselves, save for their managers who had thoughtfully left TWICE alone- but never out of their sight.

TWICE spent the entire morning in the sea, enjoying each other’s company as they frolicked around without a care in the world.

After a few hours, Jihyo decided she was tired enough to stop.

Stepping back onto the white sand, Jihyo winced as her foot landed on something pointy.

“Ouch. What is…” She never finished her question. Suddenly hit by a wave of nausea, Jihyo clutched her head. Here it was again, the extreme sense of deja vu. She had been feeling this for the umpteenth time today, and it was no longer fun.

Looking around warily, Jihyo saw the scene with different eyes. Everyone was acting perfectly normal, yet it felt strangely familiar, as if she had seen this a lot before. While this was true, it shouldn’t have affected her so much as it was at the moment.

Her gaze drifted to a bench nearby, where a lone figure sat. Nayeon had stopped swimming some time earlier, and now she was hanging out on the beach, completely focused on playing the guitar.

Wait… guitar?

Jihyo was, after all, not an omnipresent god; there could be a lot of mysteries going on for her members that she never discovered, but there was one thing Jihyo knew for sure- Nayeon had never played the guitar before.

It did not take long for Jihyo to put two and two together.

“Nayeon-unnie.” She muttered under her breath. The person in their group with the ability to manipulate time at will, she must have had something to do with this. The evidence kept piling up, each and every of them pointing towards the involvement of TWICE’s oldest member. Determined to find out the truth, Jihyo walked out of the water and towards her unnie.

Nayeon looked up from her guitar and smiled fondly at the approaching leader. She couldn’t have enough of seeing Jihyo in her swimwear. Even at this private site of the island the threat of paparazzi was prominent, so any sort of revealing attire was sadly out of the question. As it stood, they had to do with full body swimsuits only. Still, it did not make Jihyo seem any less attractive; the skintight sportswear clung nicely to her well-proportioned figure and glistened with water, giving her an incredibly sensual aura.

“Hey.” The leader greeted. Shaking her head from the reverie, Nayeon replied smoothly.

“Hey Jihyo, having fun?”

“I am, Nayeon-unnie, thanks for asking. I’m having too much fun right now, it’s almost too good to be true.” With this she shot a pointed look at the older girl.

If Nayeon was at all fazed from the meaningful stare she did not show it. Rather, she merely nodded and returned to fiddling with the guitar strings. Her next song, which was her own impromptu adaptation of Likey, revealed anything but a relaxed state. Nayeon stopped on second too long after the intro, fumbled one time too many on the chorus, and- Jihyo noticed upon closer inspection- her chord hand was showing the slightest of trembles. She was nervous, and Jihyo knew it.

She put her hand on Nayeon’s, forcing the older to stop playing and divert her eyes upwards to meet her leader’s.

“You have something to do with this, don’t you, Nayeon-unnie?” Jihyo inquired, seeking the verbal confirmation of what she already knew. “You’re turning back time, and we’re having this vacation over and over.”

Nayeon did not answer, and she looked away. Despite the lack of response, Jihyo could see clearly the resigned guilt and overwhelming boredom in Nayeon’s slumped posture.

“How do you tell?” She asked with a quiet, dejected voice of someone who was caught red-handed. “It shouldn’t be any more than a slight deja vu. There’s no way you could find out you’re stuck in a time loop!”

“Nayeon-unnie… I’ve known you for almost a decade now, and never once did I see you with a guitar. People can’t just up and cover a song like that you know, that takes a lot of practice.” Nayeon stared at the guitar in her hands with disdain. Never once did she think it would be her undoing.

“… I gave myself away there, didn’t I?” Jihyo nodded sympathetically. Nayeon heaved a sigh, realizing her blunder one second too late.

“But why are you doing this? I told you, overusing your powers is not good for your health!”

“Well, when we were about to head home that evening, you told me how you wished for the vacation to last forever, so I thought…”

Jihyo’s eyes widened to the size of a golfball. That was the last thing she ever expected. Of course, since her unnie had rewound the time, she could not have remembered this particular instance, but she could very well imagine herself getting sad and saying something along the line of ‘I wish this vacation would last forever’.

“Oh my lord Nayeon-unnie… I don’t even know what to say…”

“But you need this vacation, don’t you! You’ve been working tirelessly these last few weeks, and it hurts to see you stress yourself out like that.” Nayeon desperately tried to justify her action, something she realized had been nothing but a colossal mistake.

Jihyo did not reply. She stared at the time manipulator, her mind blank with shock.

Before long, Nayeon decided she had had enough of this.

“Just, forget I said anything. It was really a stupid idea, you don’t remember what happened anyway. I won’t do it again.” Nayeon huffed and stood up, intent on getting away from her leader. She knew, deep inside, that what she did didn’t really make much sense if one thought about it, but seeing Jihyo’s incredulous reaction proved was too much. She did not really hope for any kind of appreciation, but still…

“Wait, Nayeonie.” Jihyo suddenly spoke up, using the rarely used nickname. Nayeon turned back and raised an eyebrow; being the oldest among the girls, no one really called her that but herself, so the mention of the nickname redirected her attention right away.

Jihyo stood up as well and wrapped the dumbfounded Nayeon in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean it to come out like that. I’m just so shocked that you’d do something like that for my sake.”

“Well it’s not really your sake alone, but others too, you know…” Nayeon trailed off when she saw Jihyo’s amused look. “Alright, I mostly think of you only when I do it. Happy?”

“Very. Look, Nayeon-unnie, I can’t thank you enough for your consideration, but please, think about yourself too. You’re bored out of your mind, and I can’t live with myself if I’m the cause for that.”

Nayeon looked at her quizzically. “That’s all? You’re not mad?”

“How could I be? That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Admittedly I did not expect you’d take my words at face value, but it has been awesome. I just wish I could remember all the time I spent here, but sadly I only do for this repeat.” Jihyo playfully pouted, and was delighted that the smile she loved finally returned to Nayeon’s pretty face.

“… Really?”

“Really.”

“In that case, reward me.” Nayeon said slyly, puckering her lips out. It was clear what she was expecting.

“I’m not kissing you Nayeon-unnie…” Came Jihyo’s refusal. Still, she planted an appreciative kiss on Nayeon’s cheek. “… yet.”

“Dammit Jihyo, you’re such a tease. This will come back to bite you in the ass one day, I swear.”

“How can I not be? I live with a bunch of girls that are trying to steal kisses on my lips everyday. I have to retaliate somehow, no?” The light-hearted banter continued as they walked back towards the others.

“Last question. How long has this been going on, Nayeon-unnie?” Asked Jihyo curiously as they sat back down on the bench, almost afraid of the answer. After all, her unnie had managed to be quite proficient on the guitar, and taking into account the fact that she’d never touched one prior, the loop was likely to have been going on for quite a long while.

Nayeon looked down, her long hair obscuring whatever expression she had, and mumbled the answer.

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch you.”

“… 19 weeks.”

Jihyo promptly fell out of her seat.

____

Sitting in the van heading home from the airport, betwixt her rowdy bandmates, Nayeon rested her head on Jihyo’s shoulder and mused.

“You know Jihyo, in that time loop, I saw a lot of interesting things.”

Jihyo turned to look at Nayeon curiously.

“What are you talking about Nayeon-unnie?”

“I watched you guys doing your thing at the beach every day, then it suddenly occurred to me that I should note down what you guys did each repeat.” Nayeon fumbled with her back pocket, taking out a small notebook.

“Check this. Tzuyu was too afraid to even touch the water at first, but she gradually edged closer and closer thanks to your help… and the last day, she was frolicking in the water like it’s the most natural thing in the world.” This ilicited a laugh from Jihyo. She had been trying to get the maknae out of her fear for so long, and ironically, she did not even remember when she finally succeeded.

“Awww Nayeon-unnie, that was such an achievement, yet now I have no memory of that.” She playfully slapped Nayeon’s leg, making her pout.

“Well, what matters is that you finally did it, no?”

“… I guess you’re right.” Conceded Jihyo. “What else do you have?”

“Let’s see… Most of the others did more or less the same thing over and over, like Sana. She never gets tired of swimming it seems. Every time she challenged someone to a swimming contest, and she managed to lost each and every of them.” The duo shared a small laughter. “Or Mina and her passion for building sand castles, and our rappers for underwater wrestling.” She turned to the first place of the notebook, then continued.

“But you, Jihyo… you did something different every single time. You sat with me the day I started out on the guitar. You tried to swim as far as possible, making everyone worried. You got us all to play a game of beach volleyball. Once you even did scuba diving with a borrowed suit and equipments.”

Jihyo did not expect this newfound info. “I did all of that?”

“You did. I should have noticed this before, but this was the sign that you remembered, at least, your body did. Unconsciously you want to try something new and unprecedented, even if you didn’t know it yourself.”

The leader took one moment to absorb the observation. “I… reckon it’s true. Today, at least I think it’s today, I had a dream that I played in the sea so much I got tired even I awoke, so I felt like relaxing and taking a walk on the beach instead.”

“I see. Well, trust me when I tell you, you can now do pretty much every activity one can possible do at the beach like a veteran, and you can claim you’ve never done this before.”

“This has been an amazing experience Nayeon-unnie, I’m sure it is, even if I remember nothing.”

“Jihyo… This goes to show that even among us extraordinaires, you’re still special. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” Nayeon concluded, landing a light peck on Jihyo’s flushed cheek.

“… Thank you, Nayeon-unnie. For everything.” They sat in a companionable silence, until Nayeon whispered again.

“… Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I… try something new and unprecedented too?” This got Jihyo’s attention.

“What do you have in mind, Nayeon-unnie?”

“… I want to fast forward the time. See if we can get home sooner, even if it’s just a few minutes.” Jihyo detected a hint of anxiety in Nayeon’s unusually meek voice. Nayeon was always confident- whether it was about her looks, her singing, or her charisma, she had absolute trust in herself. Even though the other members, Jihyo herself included, often acted annoyed to her self-centered, borderline narcissistic behavior, they were secretly appreciative of it- whenever they were up against something arduous, Nayeon served as their source of self-assurance. One look at the cheerful bunny girl and they felt whatever they were facing did not seem nearly as intimidating as before.

Only when it came to unfamiliar grounds did the eldest of TWICE show any sign of insecurity.

However, Jihyo would not have that. She had been there when Nayeon took up guitar- at least, that was according to Nayeon herself, and she would be there for her when she tried to raise her powers to the next level.

“Don’t worry Nayeon-unnie, just try your best and don’t push your limits. I’m sure you can do it, no problem at all.” She said in her best soothing voice.

“… What if I can’t and we get stuck somewhere in the void? What if I brought us too far forward and we all became old and wrinkly? What if…” Nayeon was stopped as Jihyo put a finger on her lips. It was warm and reassuring.

“No matter what happens unnie, I know you can fix it. I trust you completely.” In an attempt to appease Nayeon’s disquiet spirit, Jihyo planted an affectionate kiss on the hand she was holding in hers, her eyes never leaving Nayeon’s.

The older girl found herself tear up almost immediately. This alone was the reason why she had been able to withstand all the pain of being an outcast. It had been durable, always up a bold and cocky facade and striving on forwards, only because she could return to this helping hand when things were too much to handle.

“… Thank you, Jihyo-ah. Thank you.”

With that, Jihyo closed her eyes. Their intertwined hands, held firmly between their bodies, never parted even as Nayeon once again twisted the fabric of space and time.


	3. A Dreamy Date (Mina)

Mina didn’t talk much. Yet among TWICE members, she was the most expressive. She always stayed loudly silent, so to speak.

Whilst making less than no sense, the oxymoron became quite clear once one got to know Mina a bit more privately. The resident penguin had, unbeknownst to herself, mastered the skills of non-verbal communication; other members could read her like a book without her saying anything, much to her dismay.

When she was sad, she would be pouty. “What’s wrong?” someone would ask, and they would give her a bucket of icecream.

When she was irritated, she would puff out her cheeks and cross her arms. Someone would be quick to apologize.

When she was happy, she would hum, and her body would sway lightly from side to side in her seat. Someone would be there just to behold the embodiment of cuteness known as Myoui Mina.

The best part was, she never knew what she did. Mina was always lost in her own mind, that she could barely care what she was showing to the world. Which was a lot, unfortunately.

“How can you guys possibly know what I think all the time?” She had asked in frustration. Jihyo only answered with laughter and a big hug.

Mina and Momo arguing was always a scene to watch, with the two of them jumping on top of one another, pinching and pulling on each other’s clothes, hair, or cheeks- anything they could grab, while bickering in a language that- according to Sana- was barely intelligible even for a Japanese.

With that said, it did not take long for Jihyo to realize something was going on. Something was off with Mina since they woke up that morning, and she tried to hide it so pathetically that even a blind person could notice.

“Good morning Mina-yah. You’re up early today.” TWICE’s leader sleepily greeted her roommate. It was not common to see Mina up and about at 7 in the morning; left to her own devices, the girl never saw fit to get out of bed before the clock hit double digits. Yet today she was, neatly folding up her mess of pillows and blankets. They did not have any work schedules for today, so Jihyo had every right to wonder.

“Morning Jihyo! It’s a lovely day, yes? Perfect for going out right?” Chirped Mina in a voice that Jihyo perceived as overly cheerful, if not somehow suspicious.

“Yeah… you’re going out today Mina?” She inquired quizzically. Yet another abnormality- Mina was the last person she’d expect to look forward to going out. There had been instances where they all went out the whole day, coming back only to see the girl at the exact place they left her in, surrounded by snacks and engrossed in video games.

“Yes! I mean, no. I mean, probably. Depends.” That was the worst answer to a yes-no question, and naturally it did not serve to satisfy any of Jihyo’s demands.

“That was a terrible answer Minari.” She was not hesitant to deadpan her opinion either.

Mina pouted. She sulkily ran out of the room, only to crash into the door to Jihyo’s amusement.

This unusual clumsiness continued for the whole morning, before Jihyo could not take it anymore.

“Mina!”

“Uuuuu…” Came a pained reply. The resident penguin had yet another accident, and she was now nursing her sore foot with which she just kicked the table leg.

“You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

“I have?” Mina perked up, surprise clear in her voice. It seemed that she yet again wasn’t aware of how awfully bad she was at hiding her predicament.

“Yes. Tell me what’s on your mind, would you?”

The penguin fidgeted. She was waiting for the right moment, but at this point it seemed right to just spill the beans right away.

“Jihyoahwouldyougooutwithmetoday” Mina squeaked, then hit herself on the head. _Way to fucking go, Myoui Mina._

“… Come again?” As expected, Jihyo did not catch one word of that.

A few minutes and a lot of stuttering later, Jihyo finally got the idea.

“Ooooh so that’s what you mean. Of course Minari, why not? I wanna enjoy the outdoors today too. Let’s go!” Jihyo exclaimed, then instinctively braced herself.

Her situation in the Twice dorm was, for lack of better words, extremely volatile. If, God forbid, any other member managed to overhear her acceptance to Mina’s invitation, she would surely get in a lot of trouble from jealous supergirls. Being crushed beneath a sulky Tzuyu and spun around at Mach 7 by a frustrated Momo was never fun to say the least.

To her surprise, nothing happened.

“Eh? Where is everyone today?” Only now did she notice the unusual absence of the remainder of TWICE.

“I… may or may not have made them think they had some important business to take care of first thing in the morning.” Behind her, Mina timidly disclosed.

“Mina!”  
_____

Standing at the front door, Jihyo could only stare in disbelief at the pouring rain.

“How can this be… The weather was so nice just now.”

“Now we can’t enjoy anything outdoors… and just going out is troublesome. Why even bother?” Mina murmured.

They looked at one another, mirroring the other’s disappointed look. It might not be the nicest thing to think, but Jihyo always thought Mina was the most beautiful when she was sad. The melancholy within those crystal irises was simply out of this world.

Lost in her thoughts, Jihyo never noticed the sound of rain coming to a halt. She only jerked out of it when Mina excitedly shook her shoulders.

“Look Jihyo! The rain stops!”

Dazedly tearing her gaze from Mina, Jihyo looked out to find out that the weather had indeed cleared up. The cloud had scattered, giving way for sunlight to shine brilliantly.

“Eh, really? Wow…”

“I guess we got really lucky. Let’s go?” Already standing outside, Mina extended a hand, which Jihyo gladly accepted.

“Say, Minari. Are we on a date?” Jihyo decided to ask as they were striding towards their destination.

“Depends how you think about it. If you want to, sure.” Came the mischievous reply.  
_____

The so-called date was phenomenal.

They went straight to Lotte World, where they had the time of their lives just having fun and enjoying each other’s company. Jihyo was glad to see Mina in her bright carefree mood, playing her heart out at the arcade and screaming at the top of her lungs on the rollercoaster. Of course, she did as well. The couple had such a blast together, they barely noticed time passing by; only when Jihyo noticed their dark shadows on the ground, draped by golden sunset glow, did she realize the day was coming to a close.

“It’s getting late Minari. We should head back soon.” Jihyo observed sadly.

“Not so fast Jihyo-ah, we have a movie to catch in ten minutes.” Mina cheekily said, whipping out a couple of tickets from her pocket. Jihyo’s mood brightened immediately.

“Oh my gosh, are those for ‘District 9’ premiere? I’m dying to watch that movie!” She gushed with excitement. Mina nodded, proud of herself. “How do you even get the tickets? I heard they’re sold out in like one hour!”

“I have my ways. Are you coming or not?” Mina playfully waved the tickets in front of Jihyo’s face.

“Of course I am. Let’s go!” Linking her arms with Mina’s, Jihyo all but skipped towards the grand cinema.

As it turned out, she did not notice much what was going on during the movie- both of them were only pretending to be focused; rather, they paid more attention to where their hands were touching- and what part of their body was being touched.

They did not get home until late at night.

_____

_Among the group, Mina was probably the most advanced with her powers. It was not in regard to strength, seeing as all of them were quite powerful in their own ways, and Jihyo forbade any kind of sparring to let them find out who was the strongest- this had sparked quite a few times, with only a simple ‘hey, wanna fight? I wanna try something’ and things went south as quickly as Momo. She knew she couldn’t physically stop them once things started, so it was best not to let anything go off in the first place. She also knew she’d probably limit their growth by not letting them test out new things, yet it was something they were fully able to do by themselves and not on others, and Jihyo was not about to let her precious members get hurt due to reckless experiment._

_Except for Mina. Her time spent alone was more than enough for her to explore every obscure corners of her prowess, and no one could tell if she’d employed her powers or not- it affected the mind, with little to no visible changes to one’s body, so it was difficult to discern for sure whether Mina had done something to someone._

_That said, Mina could very well hypnotize Jihyo into someone she wasn’t- from a loving girlfriend to a passionate lover, or even a helpless suitor, following the Japanese like a whipped dog- to her own satisfaction, or merely to get a kick out of the other members. Yet she never did._

_“I’ll never try anything on you Jihyo.” Mina had declared, in the most resolute tone she could muster._

_Because she loved Jihyo way too much for that, though this part she did not mention. She never dared say something so outrageous out loud._

_And Jihyo was thankful. Still, if she was completely honest with herself, she was sometimes afraid- or, at least, apprehensive, of the fact that she was completely at Mina’s mercy._

_____

When Jihyo opened her eyes, it was dark. Reaching for the phone, she groaned when it showed 2AM. Being a deep sleeper, it was rare for her to wake up in the middle of the night like this. They were always so busy with their schedule; therefore, they could ill afford to waste precious sleep on random jerk-ups at night. Nevertheless, Jihyo felt wide awake, as if she had been asleep for much longer.

Glancing around at the barely visible bedroom, Jihyo raised an eyebrow when she saw Mina’s bed vacant. Normally it would be hard to tell, but the neatly made bed gave the clear indication that its owner hadn’t come around since the morning before.

“Where is she…” Jihyo wondered. She decided to go look for her in the living room. Their front door made quite an obnoxious creak when it opened, so it wasn’t likely that Mina had snuck out.

Upon entering the common room, Jihyo was startled the soft, almost imperceptible sound of sobbing. Sure enough, Mina was there all by herself, crying her eyes out while burying her face in open palms.

“Minari…?” She called out tentatively. The crying ceased right away, and Mina looked up from where she was sitting, her eyes puffy and red.

“Jihyo-ah…” Mina tried her best to sound casual, yet the cracking voice betrayed her, and she could not continue.

The leader did not push for an explanation. Instead, she sat down next to Mina and offered her a comforting shoulder- like she always did.

As she was embracing Mina and drawing comforting circles on the crying girl’s arm, Jihyo caught sight of something unexpected on the table.

Lying there were four familiar-looking tickets. To be more accurate, two couples of tickets, one for the Lotte World and the other for the movie ‘District 9’. All four were in brand new condition, not stubs- meaning, they had not been used, which would be indicated by the cashier’s ripping.

And Jihyo understood.

“Minari… Our date, it never happened, did it?” She whispered the all-too-important question. “You put me to sleep with the scenario you thought of. That’s why I felt like I’d slept the whole day, because I really did. And it can’t just up and stop raining like that, now that I think about it.” Everything started to fall into place.

Mina did not reply, but her silence was more than a verbal confirmation.

“Look, Mina-yah,” Jihyo heaved a sigh. She admittedly had mixed feelings about the revelation, but right now, Mina took top priority. “There’s no need to cry over spoilt milk. We can go out any other day, tomorrow if you want. So please cheer up, I’m sad when you’re like this.” She tried to console Mina, and while it did little to actually improve her mood, it managed to halt her crying enough for conversation.

“It’s not that Jihyo-ah…” Taking a deep breath, Mina continued. “I was really looking forward to this date. We were supposed to play games together, watch movies together, and m-maybe something else. But above all, I want you to be happy with me. So… even though we were not able to go, I imagined a day where we did- then hypnotized you into thinking that. I made you fall asleep though, so it was more or less a controlled dream.”

A choke, suppressed with difficulty thus far, finally escaped Mina’s restraint.

“It’s my fault. You probably hate me now. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Jihyo-ah.”

Glistening tears threatened to fall from Mina’s eyes again, and Jihyo would not have that. To Mina’s shock, the leader pushed her down on the couch, their faces only inches apart.

“J-Jihyo?” Far from accustomed to such compromising situations, Mina stuttered, her depression momentarily forgotten. She was painfully aware of how close they were to each other; the heat from Jihyo’s body was sending waves of butterflies to her stomach, almost as much so as her intense, mesmerizing orbs.

“Minari… I don’t know if you’re doing anything to my mind right now, but there’s nothing I want more than to take a bite on those delicious-looking lips of yours.” While normally that would sound tempting and Mina would immediately accept, she was feeling naught but scared at that moment. So she chose to shake her head vehemently. Little did she know, that little action only served to make her seem even more vulnerable- and, to Jihyo, adorable.

“You’re so sweet and kind, Mina-yah. There are many things you could have done with your powers. You could force me to go out with you even if it was raining, hell, you could even make me take off my clothes for you right then and there without any dates.” Mina blushed furiously at this. She would never have enough gall for that. “But you didn’t. You made me happy at the expense of your own satisfaction. If that isn’t the sweetest sacrifice ever, I don’t know what is.”

“But, I did not keep my words…”

“If everytime you break your promise you can make me this happy, then please, break it as many times as you can.”

“Jihyo… I…” Feeling the uselessness of words at the moment, Mina decided to throw caution to the wind. She lifted her head up, and their lips met.

Mina didn’t talk much. Yet among TWICE members, she was the most expressive. Her kiss, albeit soft and shy, was burning with unbridled affection.

____

“Let’s go back to bed, shall we? You need rest.” Mina obediently nodded, still feeling light-headed from the kiss. She barely felt her feet when they walked hand in hand back to the bedroom they shared with Nayeon and Sana. What she did feel however, was that her heart dropped as Jihyo left her personal space and made for her bed.

“Wait…” Fortunately, she was still close enough to hold Jihyo back by the hand. The leader turned back with a half-puzzled, half-expectant look, her eyes glimmering in the semi-darkness that shrouded the room.

“Sleep with me tonight.”

“You know I can’t. The others won’t let me hear the end of it when they wake up and see us.” Jihyo replied regretfully.

“Let me come over to your bed then, I’ll take the blame.” Mina decided to follow through with her sudden bout of boldness. It was, after all, a small price to pay for that warmth she missed already. “They won’t even know, I promise.” She winked meaningfully.

“You know I didn’t give you permission to abuse your powers right?” Chided Jihyo playfully, pinching Mina’s dainty hand.

“But it’ll make you happy right~?” Jihyo had to concede to that. Silently they tiptoed to her bed and lay down. It was barely large enough for two people, so they settled in a spooning position.

Sleepiness soon clouded Mina’s mind, and the soothing presence of Jihyo, who was breathing rhythmically into the back of her neck, provided an profound sense of peace that no plushie could ever match.

“Mina?” Amidst the fog of drowsiness, she heard Jihyo whisper her name.

“Yeah?”

“You talked a lot tonight.”

“Hmhm.”

“You were really bold. Almost as bold as the Mina you pictured then put in my head. I like it.”

“Oh, shush you.” They shared a light laugh.

“Good night, Minari.”

“Good night, Jihyo.”

With that, Mina drifted off to blissful unconsciousness.

As she held the peacefully sleeping Mina in her arms that night, whatever doubt or fear Jihyo might have had with the girl all but evaporated. Sure, she did break her promise, intentionally even. But the sweet little penguin would never hurt her, and no amount of hypnosis could possibly alter her trust.

 


	4. Invisible Assistance (Pt. 1)

To most people, Jihyo was a talented, beautiful, and friendly singer. To her members, she was much more than that- she was a caring friend, a strict leader, a doting sister- and, most of all, an unreachable flower that wouldn’t leave their nightly dreams, be it of innocent or more… promiscuous nature. After all, she was dubbed ‘God Jihyo’ for a reason, and every day she lived up to her title flawlessly.

Well, almost.

While it sounded impossible, Jihyo’s overwhelming kindness could prove to be… less than pleasant at times.

Admittedly, some of that trouble was of the good kind. The girls sometimes needed privacy, and Jihyo sometimes was too dense to pick up the cues and persisted to stay by their side much to their annoyance. Then again, they were all grownups- they knew their leader meant well and was only trying to look out for their wellbeing. So while it didn’t sit well with them, they acknowledged it with appreciative respect.

The same thing could not be said for the other instances, where the leader’s goodwill caused anything but positive.

Rocking the very top of the list would be the fact that- according to a certain grumpy penguin and a wood-shattering maknae- she was too good for her own good. So much that there seemed to be no discrimination for who received what kind of treatment, regardless of how affectionate Jihyo might feel for some of them. One of these days, someone would probably get hurt, if Tzuyu had to walk in on yet another of Jihyo’s cuddling sessions. Aggression powered by superhuman strength and fueled by jealousy was never fun, yet Jihyo stayed frustratingly ignorant to the threat.

Following a close second was her agreeable nature. Jihyo did a brilliant job at being the group’s mediator, meaning she could resolve more or less every conflict with her presence alone- to prevent the argument from getting too heated with her appeasing but impartial input.

That was, however, when she was the middle party- which was thankfully most of the cases. When she was subject to one particular member’s irritation, things got complicated.

Right now, Jihyo along with several others were gathered around the living room. They were supposed to pick from provided range of melodies one that suited their style the most; the song, from there, would be brought to completion- Momo would choreograph, Jihyo would probably help come up with the lyrics, so on and so forth.

“I say we go with this one.” Jeongyeon suggested, then proceeded to open the song she mentioned. “Rhythmically it’s faster than usual, and there will be a lot of high notes to go with the music, so we can show off our singing skills that way.”

Jihyo nodded. That was highly specific insight. “What about this one? It’s softer sounding and more melodic. Also it’s longer so there will be longer parts for each member.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary though. As long as each of us has at least one line, no one will think twice about it.”

That made sense as well. Jihyo thought simply, then gave Jeongyeon a thumbs-up. “Alright then, let’s go with yours.” She proceeded to send a text to their manager, giving confirmation of their choice so that the production could be underway.

What she didn’t expect was for Jeongyeon to yank the phone from her hand. Looking up in astonishment, she asked.

“Hey! What gives?”

“That’s it!? You won’t even try to argue?” All of a sudden Jeongyeon exploded. This captured everyone’s attention. Nayeon, who was playing a game on her phone, immediately dropped it and came over. The group had made it an internal rule to always have an impartial third person present whenever two of them were raising their voices about something, to stop things from going out of hand. It was not exactly common for the eldest to be the mediator though, as this role more often fell to Jihyo’s hand than not, so she knew little to do save for listening on quietly.

“I’m agreeing with you Jeongyeon-unnie, is that so wrong?”

“Normally, no. But if you have a sensible idea and don’t even bother to defend it, yes.” The older girl snarled. Jihyo was beyond confused; it seemed to her that Jeongyeon was just asking for a fight at this point, and she had no idea why.

“Am I not allowed to find yours more reasonable?” The reasoning of this talk was going more and more against logic, with two of them enforcing one another’s idea instead of their own.

Jeongyeon narrowed her eyes, staring aggressively into Jihyo’s. Before long she heaved a sigh and shoved the phone back in her leader’s hands.

“Do what you will then. Jinjja, would you have the decency to stand up for what you believe in for once?”

With that, Jeongyeon stood up and departed with a huff. She ultimately won the argument, with her song being chosen, but somehow, the short-haired girl did not feel the glory.

Jihyo and Nayeon sat in silence, awkwardly looking at the door through which Jeongyeon just left.

“Should I… turn back time for you guys to have that conversation once more?” The eldest tentatively suggested.

“Don’t bother, Nayeon-unnie. I’m sure the same thing would just happen all over again.” Jihyo murmured dejectedly.

“But…”

“Really unnie, it’s fine.” Dismissing the offer, she slowly rose and dragged her feet back to the bedroom. Nayeon could only looked on helplessly, before shrugging and turning back to her phone for the much-needed distraction.

In the corner said a highly distraught Mina, who had up to that point pretended not to hear anything. In all honesty, she was ready to jump in and defended Jihyo’s argument, yet since the leader never tried to put up a fight, she had no idea what to think about it- or what to do for that matter.

To her side, Sana stood up and followed Jihyo’s retreat. Mina sighed in relief, as she knew she could count on her Sana-unnie at times like this. _I wish I could do that myself though_ , Mina wistfully thought, turning back to her book, titled ‘How to Console your Girlfriend for Dummies’. The penguin proceeded to imagine all kinds of situations she would normally find cringe-worthy, but suddenly so very dreamy when it involved Jihyo and herself.

____

“Jihyo-ah, talk to me.”

TWICE’s leader looked up at her name being called. In front of her stood Sana, a look of worry etched across her face. Jihyo had always found it comical how the J-Line trio could manage such pronounced facial expressions, that everyone could tell right away what they were feeling.

“Sana-yah.” Contemplating a bit, she finally replied, her voice coming out more despondent than she thought. “Was I… wrong?”

“No you’re not Jihyo-ah. It’s sweet of you, it really is. I just don’t think it’s what Jeongyeon needs right now.”

“What do you mean? Am I supposed to assert my opinion instead of listening to my member’s input?” Jihyo was all but using Sana as an outlet for her confused frustration.

“I don’t mean that, but…” Sana stopped mid-sentence. While the Japanese girl would be ready to take the blunt end of Jihyo’s exasperation the if it meant the matter could be put to rest, she felt like her leader was in need of some eye opening.

“How about this. We sneak into Jeongmo’s room to see what they think. I’m quite sure Jeongyeon is having the same conversation with Momoring right now.”

Jihyo scoffed. “Yeah, as if I could be invisible like you.”

Sana looked at her with an elaborate ‘are you stupid’ expression. “Jihyo-ah.”

“What?”

“I can make things I touch go invisible too, you know.”

This was new. “You can do that?” Jihyo tilted her head.

“Of course I can. Jinjja, why do you think you never see a set of clothes floating in the air, dummy?”

“Well, I always thought you have some covert ultra-augmented camouflaging fiber technology that is custom-made for you…” Jihyo faltered when Sana shot her an unamused look. “… I’ll stop now.”

The Japanese girl sighed. “Anyway, I’m not sure myself if it works on other people, so why not give it a shot?”

“I’m okay with the testing, but sneaking into their room… somehow it doesn’t feel right. What if we heard something we aren’t supposed to?” Jihyo hesitantly said.

Sana tried not to sigh, and failed. She knew the girl’s righteous morality would kick in sooner or later.

“Jihyo-ah, Momo shared everything she knew with me. We’re bound to know it, so better now than later.” Sana reasoned. “Plus, I’m trying to prove a point here. You’re missing the big picture, and I can’t show it to you unless you are put in Jeongyeon’s shoes for once.”

Jihyo could not say no to this, at least. She always tried their best to become a better leader of her beloved group, and she would not miss a chance when it presented itself, even if it meant doing something she did not agree with personally. Then again, she was really curious, so…

“Let’s give it a try then, shall we?” Jihyo lightly laughed. “So, what do I have to do?”

“Simple, just hold my hand… or any part of me you see fit.” Sana winked, making Jihyo huff.

“As if I would, you pervert.” Not about to give Sana the satisfaction, Jihyo determinedly took hold of her friend’s hand and nowhere else.

With that, Sana snapped her fingers.


	5. Invisible Assistance (Pt. 2)

It was really a strange feeling, thought Jihyo, as she stared at the floor through the air, where her normally visible hand should have been.

She felt… light. So much that when she jumped in the air, she half-expected to float away like a balloon, or at least come down slower than usual. It didn’t seem to be the case though, as her unseen feet touched the ground with an usual thud.

“… Wow.” Feeling at a loss for words, she settled with a simple exclamation.

“The way I see it, you don’t hate the feeling.” From somewhere in the void space beside her came Sana’s amused voice.

“It’s… out of this world, to say the least. I never thought you don’t even see yourself in this state. How do you even do things?”

“It comes with experience I guess.” Jihyo could almost see the nonchalant shrug of Sana’s shoulders.

After a few fascinating experiments with touching and handling random things, Jihyo decided she had a good grasp of how to maneuver herself around without detection. The trick was- according Sana- to wear socks, and to always walk on tiptoe. Talented as she was, she could not deceive the ears.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Just make sure we stay in touch.” Sana reminded helpfully. “It will be quite disastrous if you suddenly show up in Jeong’s room from thin air, and she knows you’re spying on her.”

“The way you put it suddenly makes me lose my will, Sana-yah.”

“No takesies-backsies! Let’s go!”

____

Zealous as they were during preplanning, the duo completely overlooked the logistics side of their little operation. Specifically, how Jeongyeon and Momo often locked their door as soon as they got inside.

As it stood, Sana and Jihyo stood invisibly crestfallen in front of said door, neither having any idea how to proceed.

Then their gaze inevitably drifted to the balcony on the right, which- upon inspection, was revealed to be right next to the room’s open window.

The only problem was, they were separated by a distance of roughly two meters, and the only passage was a foot-wide ledge that looked straight down to their lawn a story below.

While a fall from this height was not statistically lethal, the notion of falling down from the second floor and breaking some bones was by no means tempting, especially for idols whose schedules barely ever left them with a full day of rest.

Alas, neither of them was particularly afraid of heights, so the thought of retreat barely made them bat an eye. In a silent agreement, they took turns stepping out of the balcony and edging their way towards the bedroom window.

“This starts to feel like an adventure, doesn’t it?” Sana’s tone was excited and conspiratorial.

When they reached the window and secured their footing, they heard a groan coming from inside. Both halting in their steps, they stared in horror at the general direction from which the sound came.

 _They can’t be doing… this and that… can they?_ Perverted thoughts ran through their heads as they peered, inch by inch, through the glass window, almost afraid of what they would behold.

To their relief, Momo was merely sitting on a bedside chair, looking at Jeongyeon who was curled into a fetal position on the bed. She occasionally twisted and turned while clutching her stomach, and Momo would reach out and wipe the sweat-soaked hair from her face. Whatever relief Jihyo and Sana were enjoying almost immediately turned into worry, since the short-haired girl was obviously in pain.

But… judging by how calm Momo was being, it couldn’t be any accident or disease… in that case, then it must be…

Jihyo let out an audible sigh. They were all girls after all, she knew all too well what Jeongyeon was going through. In retrospect, she should have anticipated this earlier; Jeongyeon-unnie was never the type to have irregular outbursts, so her spontaneous combustion was actually quite a clear sign of her… periodical suffering.

With the new knowledge in mind, Jihyo glanced back to the balcony, intent on going back to safety. But then, she caught sight of her hand.

Her  _visible_  hand.

Out of pure shock, Jihyo lost hold on the railing, and with that, her footing as well. She desperately flailed, but there was nothing around her to grab on. She tried to shout, but the sound no longer seemed to come from her body- there was someone yelling something, but she could not tell who or what.

So Jihyo just let it go. ‘Eyes, look your last,’ she thought peacefully as she relaxed her body, awaiting inevitable demise as she fell through the air…

… Straight into the waiting arms of the maknae, who barely had to bend her knees as she caught an already praying Jihyo with next to no effort.

Still in near-death daze, Jihyo could just make out the outline of a beautiful face, before the blurring stabilized and she found herself staring into an intense onyx eyes of an angel.

In a woozy attempt to make sure she was not high up in heavens, Jihyo reached up, and sure enough, the tip of her fingers graced the silent goddess’s warm, soft, velvety skin.

“Wow, so angels DO fall from the sky.” The ‘goddess’ joked in an inappropriately deadpan voice.

And just like that, the magic faded. They were back on Earth, and the goddess turned back to Tzuyu.

Feeling a bit calmer now that she was certain about her own living state, Jihyo gulped a lungful of air, something she’d never before found so precious.

“I’m… not dead?”

“No you’re not. I’m here.” Tzuyu replied calmly, her voice doing miracles in rejuvenating the stunned leader. “Why did you suddenly jump from the balcony, Jihyo-unnie?”

“I um…” Jihyo took a moment to reassess her situation. She was visible again after she let go of Sana’s hand. The girl was, of course, nowhere to be seen, either still keeping her balance on that edge, or already retreated. Thinking back, she must have lost touch with Sana some time during their sneaking about. Luckily, the girls inside were too preoccupied to take notice then.

“… I was reading a fan letter up there, then it flew from my grip. I reached out to catch it and lost my footing. Silly me.” She slowly lied. Luckily, Tzuyu did not seem to doubt, as she reached up with one hand and lightly knocked on Jihyo’s head as a form of reproach, all the while able to hold the older girl firmly with the other.

“Stupid unnie. What would we do if you had injured yourself? Lucky for you, I heard Sana-unnie call my name and I looked up just in time.” Tzuyu jumped right at the chance. It was uncommon for Tzuyu to act like the mature one, and she would not let this go easily.

“I know, that was really careless of me. I owe you my life Tzuyu-ah.” Letting her feet thankfully touch the ground, Jihyo tiptoed to give the giddy Tzuyu a kiss on the cheek. She did not forget to hug her waist tightly. “My hero.”  
____

After a while of tearful ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘it’s okay’, Sana and Jihyo got back to the topic at hand.

“So… Did you see what was going on in there?” Jihyo asked, referring to the events that transpired prior to her accident.

“Nae… At least now we know why she lashed out at you earlier.” Answered Sana, apparently on the same page. They sat there for a while motionlessly with pensive looks, heads resting on palms, both wondering what to do.

Sana felt a sudden urge to steal a kiss, or at least poke that taunting squishy cheek just to sate her incorrigible touchy-feely side, but thought better of it since her leader was obviously deep in thought.

“So…”

“I guess since it’s like that, I’d better leave Jeongyeon-unnie alone for now.”

However, Sana had different plans.

“I don’t think it’s good enough, Jihyo-ah. I really suggest you go talk to her right now.”

“But… what if things don’t go well, and we end up fighting? Jeong’s most likely having mood swings right now. She’ll hate me for it. For everything.”

“I’m sure it won’t become like that. And even if it does, it’s what you guys need right now, you know, to let out all the pent-up stress. Either way there won’t be a problem, trust me.” Sana laid a hand on Jihyo’s cheek, and the girl instinctively leaned into the warm comforting touch.

“Because…” Sana hesitated a moment before continuing. “… I’ll be there the whole time for you. I-if you want, of course.”

At this point, Sana couldn’t help but feel she was overstepping her bounds. Yet her leader seemed so vulnerable right now, and she could not resist offering a hand of support- even if said hand must be invisible.

Serendipity seemed to be on her side today however, as Jihyo’s eyes visibly brightened. She clutched Sana’s hand as if hanging on a lifeline.

“You will?”

And of course, Sana could never say no to that.  
____

That evening, Sana went into the bedroom. Jihyo was pacing around the room, awaiting anxiously for her return.

“You’re good to go. Momo is watching dramas in the living room with the others. You can have some time alone with Jeong if you visit her now.”

“I got it, thanks Sana.” Jihyo replied, then asked with a hint of bashfulness. “You’re still going with me… right?”

Sana choose not to answer. Instead, she snapped her finger and evaporated. It was more than an adequate response for Jihyo; she appreciatively reached out her hand, and smiled as an invisible force took tight hold of it.

“I hope you don’t mean for us to go there like this, it would look really awkward.”

Jihyo laughed and shook her head lightly. They left the room in silence, with Jihyo leading and Sana trailing behind. The duo proceeded to turn left, and it puzzled Sana a bit.

“Um… Jeongmo’s room is on the other direction.”

“I know. I wanna make her something, maybe a cup of hot chocolate. She would definitely want one right now.”

_This. This is exactly why no one can ever hate you, Jihyo-ah._

____

Jeongyeon looked up when she heard the door open, and raised her eyebrow when the head that peeked in had a wavy flowing hairstyle instead of Momo’s straight shoulder-length cut.

“Jihyo?”

“It’s me, Jeongyeon-unnie.”

“Look, if you’re here to say sorry, don’t. It’s not your fault.” Jeongyeon was not in a talking mood right now. To be accurate, she did not trust herself to be talking at the moment.

Nevertheless, Jihyo did not intend to back away. Instead, she tentatively asked.

“The cramps?”

“The cramps.” Grumbled Jeongyeon in confirmation. “All this superpower, and every month I surrender to this goddamn pain in the ass.”

“You mean, pain in the abdomen.” Sana stifled a laugh. Jeongyeon wanted to response to the pun, yet all she could manage was an unholy grimace.

“Please stop Jihyo, laughing is torture for me right now.”

“I made you some chocolate. Should be able to help somewhat.” Jihyo offered setting the cup down on the nightstand. It barely stayed there for three seconds before being grabbed greedily. Jeongyeon proceeded to take sips at an accelerating pace despite the heat, set the empty cup back to its place, then flopped back down in bed before Jihyo could even told her to be careful.

“Here, let me.” The leader sat down next to Jeongyeon, gently massaging around her waist. It seemed to work wonders, as the older girl visibly relaxed and sighed contentedly.

“Wait, how do you know I’m on my period though?” Jihyo stiffened.

“Um… I just took a guess. After all, you don’t normally shout at me.” Luckily, the older girl didn’t inquire further, but now, they were back on the main topic.

Jeongyeon sighed. “Look Jihyo-ah, I know you meant well, I really do. But my argument stands.”

“I understand unnie, it’s sometimes better to shine individually than to be standard as a group.” Jihyo replied, yet this only served to irk Jeongyeon even more.

“You’re not getting the picture! I’m not saying which of us is wrong or right. I couldn’t care less as to what songs we choose, but by hearing your input I will actually have something else to consider other than my own thoughts, and therefore I-we, can all become better people with a multilateral viewpoint.”

“… I have never thought of it like that.” Jihyo conceded. All she wanted was for everyone to enjoy a sense of peace; she had nary a thought how said peace could be an impediment to their own self-development.

Unexpectedly, a tear fell from Jeongyeon’s eyes.

“I should have told you this properly, not by bursting out in anger like that. I’m really sorry.” She said in a shaking voice. Jihyo wasted no time embracing her friend, something Jeongyeon was more than glad for. She continued to sob quietly in Jihyo’s chest, as her leader caressed her back with gentle affection.

After a minute, the sound of sniffling finally ceased, and Jeongyeon spoke up.

“Jihyo?”

“Yes?”

“This is just the hormones crying. The great Yoo Jeongyeon never cries.”

Her leader laughed, her voice a delightful ringing bell. “Whatever you say, Jeongyeon-unnie.”

When she knew Jeongyeon wasn’t looking, Jihyo leaned her head on her shoulder, where an invisible hand had been there all this time.  
____

Back in her bedroom, Jihyo finally allowed herself to let out a relieved sigh. Only then did Sana re-materialize, and the girl clapped happily.

“See? That wasn’t so hard.” It almost turned south at a point, but Sana decided not to mention it.

“This has been really enlightening. I learned a lot today.” Jihyo flashed a fond smile at the Japanese girl. “Sometimes people don’t just want to win. It’s okay to lose, as long as they get something meaningful and productive.”

“Atta girl. Now you can go on to be the best leader this world’s ever seen.” Sana allowed herself to be somewhat playful and wrapped her arms around Jihyo’s waist. She did not expect Jihyo to actually hug her back and, to her immense surprise, bury her face into Sana’s chest, causing a massive blush to bloom on the girl’s face.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Sana-yah. You’re the best friend I could ever hope for.” Jihyo said, feeling tears coming to her eyes. She hated her hypersensitive tear glands sometimes; it was hardly a moving occasion, yet already she felt close to sobbing.

Of course, Sana was quick to notice the usual glisten in Jihyo’s bright round eyes. Knowing how easy for her leader to start crying at the most simple situations, the bubbly Japanese was quick to intervene. At times like this, an affectionate hug would most likely push Jihyo over the edge and trigger those waterfalls to come down hard, so Sana decided against it. Instead, she playfully reached out a hand and pinched the younger girl’s cheek.

“Come on, that’s what friends do. Don’t get all emotional on me, dummy.” Coming second only to Jihyo in crying frequency, Sana could relate well to what Jihyo was feeling, and how much she hated being so helpless in controlling it. Luckily, she knew just how to get rid of it for others.

Jihyo giggled, her crybaby nature thankfully suppressed.

No one in the household had ever managed this feat, save for Sana herself.

They stayed like that for a while, until Jihyo felt sleepy and called it a day. Sana bid her a goodnight and went back to her bed, where she stayed motionless for a while, staring blankly at the dark ceiling.

She was disappointed. Not about her inability to save Jihyo from falling, no. She had done her part and yelled for Tzuyu just in time, so she was happy.

She was disappointed because no matter how much she convinced herself, the sight of Jihyo and Tzuyu together still stabbed her heart as brutally as ever.

Sana had tried to think that, sure, Tzuyu and Mina might have been inside the circle of her arms, tasted her wonderful lips, felt her warmth, but there was always a part of Jihyo that was only for her. Which was actually true to an extent. When it came to helping Jihyo in dark times, Sana was assured no one could even come close to her.

Still, the fact remained that while Sana would always be there as a fluffy laughing beaver to stop Jihyo’s tears and make her laugh instead, all those things mentioned before were something she would never know.

The one to stand beside the leader was none other than Sana, but unfortunately for her, said leader only looked forward.

Eventually Sana drifted off under the veil of sleep, wondering if she was okay with everything going on.  
____

The following morning, Jihyo woke up late, with a dull nagging headache. When she sluggishly entered the kitchen, most members were already gathered, either having breakfast or otherwise getting ready for the day. The first thing she noticed though, was Sana skulking under the table. The girl seemed to be pulling a prank on Tzuyu, who was almost half-asleep whilst eating her cereal at an incredibly slow pace.

It was weird that no one tried to stop Sana, even Tzuyu herself. Despite her state, it should be quite obvious that there’s a moving person underneath her seat.

“Sana,” Jihyo decided to call out. “What are you doing?”

Sana seemed to be caught off guard, as if not expecting someone to see her. So she jumped and banged her head against the bottom of Tzuyu’s seat, who- out of surprise- flung the spoon on her hand to the side with enough force to carry along with it the larger portion of the cereal. Said cereal landed straight on Mina’s face, who uncharacteristically let out a colorful string of curses in Japanese that Tzuyu luckily didn’t understand.

“Sana-unnie! What are you doing under my chair?” Tzuyu shouted indignantly. Sana however, could not care less, as she was looking at Jihyo with utter astonishment.

“Jihyo, how can you see me? I was invisible!”

Jihyo was surprised at this. “You were?”

“Yes!” Sana snapped her fingers, and while Jihyo did not see any change, the other girls in the room unanimously turned to look at her- a clear indication that she just materialized.

Jihyo was just about to say something, before the dormant headache roared alive, and excruciating pain shot through her eyes like a thunderbolt.

Frozen in place, Sana stared as her friend suddenly clutched her head and screamed. Bright red blood spilled through the crack between her fingers, drop after drop splattering the wooden floor.

A second passed, before the room was thrown into turmoil, as all members present snapped out of their stunned state and rushed to their leader’s side.

“Jihyo!”

“Jihyo-unnie!”

Jihyo could not stop screaming. The pain was too much, she could barely think as it rampaged through her head, shutting down all her senses one by one. All sorts of psychedelic figures danced in Jihyo’s obscured vision, no matter how hard she tried to close her profusely bleeding eyes.

Then, everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for making the resolution talk with Jeongyeon so short, but after all this is focused on Sana and Jihyo, so... Hope you guys enjoyed the small cliffhanger xD


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